Conventionally, threaded sutures are used after surgery to close a wound. A suture involves using a plurality of simple stitches, each with a knot, to hold the skin together. There are situations when sutures are unsatisfactory, because the skin overlaps during healing and can cause scarring. Additionally, surgical situations exist where the application of sutures using needle and thread simply take too long. For example, situations in which a patient should not be kept under anesthesia any longer than necessary would require a more rapid method of incision closure. Extended time under anesthesia increases the risk of patient complications.
To provide a fast method to hold skin together, staples were developed having one of three basic shapes: a C-shape, a U-shape, or a circular shaped member. These simple staples have advantages over basic suturing, such as quickness in implementation.
Furthermore, suturing can have a negative effect, in that the skin usually overlaps during healing. Overlapping skin can cause scarring or a ridge to form. The ridge or scar can delay and prolong the healing process, and can also be a cosmetically undesirable feature.
As an alternative to simple suturing, mattress suturing was developed. The mattress suture prevents overlapping of the edges of the incision and improves the healing process by quickening the healing and reducing the incidence of unsightly scarring of the skin.
The mattress suture, regrettably requires an even longer amount of time to implement than a simple suture. The mattress suture causes the wound to heal faster and reduces scarring, but requires a patient to remain under anesthesia for a greater length of time, which can have negative effects. Typically, mattress suturing involves placing a stitch immediately near each edge of an incision, then making a second stitch further from the edge of the incision or wound to approximate the two edges of the incision or wound and reduce tension on the wound while preventing an overlap of the edges of the incision.
The present embodiments were designed to provide the advantages of the mattress suturing technique with the improved quality and efficiency of a staple system.
The surgical staple includes a central portion, which can be straight or slightly curved, with bilateral opposing side portions that are sharply beveled to penetrate the skin easily. This form of staple is generally applied utilizing a stapling apparatus that forcefully drives the opposing beveled side portions through the tissue margins in a ninety degree arc, so that these beveled opposing side portions are generally facing one another at the completion of the stapling operation. The bending of the opposing beveled side portions to form generally parallel planes is often accomplished utilizing a ram and opposing ram plate that cooperatively forcefully bend the opposing beveled side portions during a stapling operation.
Another conventional surgical staple includes a generally U-shaped fastening member having legs that are received in two bores of a receiver member. This type of surgical staple is limited by the need to grasp the members both above and below the tissue plane.
A third type of surgical staple involves an open circular-shaped member, which when closed, has free ends laterally disposed with respect to each other, forming a split-ring configuration.
A need exists to prevent the overlap of the skin when drawing the edges of the skin together. A need exists for a surgical staple gun that is fast to use and will help retain the edges of the skin together for an extended time without an overlap. A need exists during the healing period after surgery for a secure stapling system that holds the skin together without an overlap to provide improved healing and reduced scarring.
The present embodiments have been developed to meet these needs.